• Movie Preview •

Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Josh Brolin. Action/adventure/exploitation. Writers/Directors Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez.FILM SYNOPSIS: Grindhouse – noun – A downtown movie theater - in disrepair since its glory days as a movie palace of the '30s and '40s - known for "grinding out" non-stop double-bill programs of B-movies. From groundbreaking directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez comes the ultimate grindhouse experience: a double-bill of thrillers that will recall both filmmakers’ favorite exploitation films. Grindhouse is presented as one full-length feature comprised of two individual films helmed separately by each director. Tarantino’s film, Death Proof, is a rip-roaring slasher flick where the killer pursues his victims with a car rather than a knife, while Rodriguez’s Planet Terror follows a group attempting to survive an outbreak of zombies. The production also contains previews of fake coming attractions, such as Werewolf Women of the S.S.

PREVIEW REVIEW:

Positives: It celebrates the heyday of the drive-in; it’s imaginative and often hysterical; it contains the car chase to beat all car chases, with some of the most daring stunt work imaginable; Kurt Russell is such a fine actor, giving a terrific performance in everything he does, including this turn as a mental case bent on killing fellow drivers; and the violence in the first feature is more like a Wyle E. Coyote cartoon.

Negatives: The violence in the second feature is disturbing as it highlights a graphic car crash where the victims’ bodies are torn apart; in keeping with the genre the two films are parroting, the sexuality is exploitive and frequent; the language could make your ears bleed.

Video Alternatives: Those looking for a great action picture need look no further than Bullitt. Steve McQueen is the essential cool cop chasing mob hit men. Great action, score and car chase. (Contains one obscenity, but I caught no misuse of God’s name. Also it has some violence, but nothing like today’s standards, or lack of.)

Prefer a chick-flick? Enchanted April. A delightful fable about four women in 1920s London escaping inattentive husbands and repressed lifestyles by renting a castle in Portofino. They soon discover the estate has a magical effect on all those who stay there. Witty dialogue, dreamy cinematography, and savory performances from Joan Plowright, Polly Walker and the rest of the cast.

Or how about the quintessential comic road picture? It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. A non-stop laugh-a-thon as a group of motorists learn of a fortune buried 200 miles away. Besides all the visual and verbal gags, and its constellation of comic greats, Mad World also contains some of the best car chases and stunts ever filmed.

Distributor: Dimension Films